Sorry about the the inaccuracy I put in about the timing control abilities of the MS1, but ... I made a mistake. It will control the timing.

Regarding the price, I bought an assembled MSII with 3.57 PCB, assembled relay board, GM HEI conversion kit and cable for less than $650 shipped; junkyard TPI setup for $175; LC1 wideband $125, stock Corvette in tank fuel pump $55;injectors serviced for $100. I had to buy miscellaneous gaskets and lines, fuses and some wire for less than $100.

I chose the assembled units because after reading the MegaManual and talking to a friend that has built 3 units (and seeing two of them in action with turbo cars), I determined that the assembled unit was for me for the extra money. A 'man has to know his limitations' and I knew I would be in for a headache if I tried to assemble a PCB. And the assembled unit for a multiport setup with either turbo or nitrous control was as close to plug and play as I could find. I chose against the MSI for two main reasons, 12x12 tables vs the MSI 8x8 tables which allows for alot more control/tuning capability, and the room to grow with the MSII or MSIII vs MSI.

I recommended the MSII or MSIII to the original poster because of what he said he was building - turbo engine, and no assembly of the PCB required.

In terms of the serial port, a USB to serial port adapter is cheap - less than $30. I asked the same question of why not a USB port? I was told, by DIYAutoTune that is was because of the toughness of the serial port and/or the delicateness of a USB port. If it had a USB port and the port broke then the PCB would have to replaced or repaired....that is what I was told and it makes sense.

Again, SORRY for any misleading info - it was not my intention and I'll repeat that I AM NOT an expert on this system or any other - I was just offering my opinion and advice based on my experience - for what it's worth.

the MS1 unit can use 12X12 tables, and dual tables that can be switched on the fly at a certain rpm or map pressure. Essentially giving you a 12X24 table (what I'm currently running). Also, MS1 leaves plenty of room to grow, the real limiting factor is the PCB, but even then the 2.2 (green board) can be modified and upgraded.